Bob Newhart will spend the next three weeks on "ER," and it's not a laughing matter.
The longtime sitcom star and stand-up comedian guest stars as a patient so despondent over his degenerating eyesight that he's strongly considering suicide.
"I call it my first intentionally dramatic role," Newhart said in a phone interview with TV critics. "I think I've done some others that were supposed to be comedic but turned out dramatic."
Like a patient who suddenly finds himself in the emergency room, Newhart suddenly found himself on "ER." His manager sent him the script, "and I said, 'When does it start?' and he said, 'This Friday.' So I didn't have a lot of time to mull it over.
"I think they showed a lot of courage in approaching me for it, because I don't have a history of dramatic performances. I was highly complimented that they thought that I was up to playing this role."
He was surprised it was offered to him. "I don't know that I was ever offered something like this," he said. "I feel most comfortable in comedy. I know what I'm doing in comedy, and I know what works for me.
"I think maybe part of their motivation was that I hadn't been on the tube a lot recently and maybe there might be some people who might find it interesting to see me again."
Newhart plays an architect who is suffering from macular degeneration. And Dr. Susan Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) is troubled by his attitude.
"There are elements of humor, but this is basically a serious role," Newhart said. "This is a man who thinks he wants to die. And he doesn't want to use up the resources of the health-care community because he's always worked with his eyes and his hands and now he's being deprived of one of them and is frustrated by how he has to live. He's estranged from his daughter. His wife has died. It's almost like — who's life is it?"
And his character develops a relationship with Dr. Lewis.
"She's kind of on the side of life is worth living and this isn't as bad as you think it is. That's what takes us over the three episodes," Newhart said.
The 74-year-old TV legend admits it was "scary" to take on the role.
"There were some misgivings as, I guess, any actor would feel about walking into an established cast," Newhart said. "And I guess actors on my shows must have felt the same way. . . . You're kind of the outsider. But I must say that they've made me feel so comfortable. Within 30 seconds of walking on the set I felt extremely comfortable. "
He praised the directors of the three episodes he appears in. "They were all wonderfully understanding and encouraging. And the cast was wonderful to work with. I was very open to suggestions. I didn't want it to be a case — and I don't think it is — of the hidden Hamlet in every comedian," Newhart said with a laugh.
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